Thunder
by Boo2020
Summary: Jessie hates thunderstorms.


Jessie stared wide eyed at the window of the guest room at the Pokémon Center. Every so often she would glimpse a flash of lightning, showing even through the blinds, and then cringe in fear when the cracks of thunder followed it. She hated storms. The rain was bad enough – it was wet and cold and it always ruined her hair, and the lightning reminded her all too much of the shocks she endured from Pikachu – but the thunder shook her to her insides, it made her feel small and fragile. She hated feeling that way, she had enough of that in her younger days, when boys would treat her like an object of possession and ditch her when they had enough, or when her foster brothers and sisters would bully her for being the smallest and youngest of them.

She was happy at least for the room in the Pokémon Center. She didn't want to take refuge there at first, she hated asking for help. She tried telling James and Meowth they would be better off setting up their tent under a tree somewhere to keep dry, that they had always managed to take care of themselves before and survive, but James had assured her that it was a bad idea, mumbling something about not wanting to be struck by lightning by anything but the twerp's Pikachu. She was glad now that he had persuaded her into going to the Pokémon Center, even if they would have to act nice for the night. She was dry, at least, and they had had their first meals and hot showers in days. Plus, the twerp hadn't ended up at the same place, so they were able to enjoy their time there without worrying about being revealed as Team Rocket agents.

Another flash of lightning shone through the window, and Jessie turned on her side, bracing herself for the inevitable boom of thunder that would come next. It happened a few seconds later, starting as a low rumbling and getting progressively louder until she could feel her bed shaking, and then faded away again. She remembered her foster mother telling her that it was the sound of angels bowling as a way to calm her younger self down, but that was a lot less comforting to her as an adult.

She shivered under her blanket and opened her eyes, glancing across the dark room to the other bed where she knew James was asleep. Thunderstorms never seemed to bother him. He always slept right through them, even if they were taking shelter in an empty bus stop somewhere instead of inside a warm room with beds and blankets. Meowth was on the bunk above James's, sleeping curled in a position that made him seem a lot more like a regular Meowth than the walking, talking cat he usually was.

James was turned away from her, sleeping on his side and facing the wall. It looked to her like he was curled in on himself; head not all the way on the pillow and blankets pulled up so high she could only just see the back of his head. He looked comfortable and she wished she could just fall asleep and brush off this storm the way he was.

Another loud crack of thunder startled her out of her thoughts and she let out a small cry. Her heart was beating in her chest and she couldn't stop the tears that sprung to her eyes from the fear. She shut them quickly, trying to stop the tears from spilling over. Damn this storm.

"Jess?" She barely heard it, hardly a whisper. She opened her eyes and looked across from her. James was turned towards her now, sitting up on one elbow and looking at her worriedly. "Are you okay?"

She sniffed and nodded several times. Of course. He could sleep through thunder but one peep out of her and he was wide awake. "The thunder scared me, that's all."

"Oh," he said, continuing to look at her, eyebrows furrowed. She looked away. She didn't want him to see her crying over a bit of stupid thunder.

"I'm fine now," she said, turning over so her back was facing him. She closed her eyes, determined to get to sleep now. A minute or so passed, and she could hear the sounds of movement from James's side of the room, and then shuffling. She tensed when she felt the edge of her bed depress, and she rolled onto her back. "James, what are you doing?"

He shrugged; looking a little shyer than he usually was, perched on the edge of her bed. "I know you're scared. You hate thunderstorms. So scoot over."

"What?"

"Come on, Jessie, just move over," he said, crawling up onto the bed and awkwardly moving over top of her to get to the other side, and then flopping down clumsily beside her. She moved over a little, just enough to make a few inches between them, as he was squished between the wall her bed was pushed up against and her body and it was rather uncomfortable. He wiggled his way under the blankets with her and settled in quickly.

They were quiet, with not much to say. Jessie turned her head to glance at him, but his eyes were already closed again. She couldn't help smiling a little. She probably would feel better if she had someone close to her. Not that she would ever admit that out loud. Of course James wasn't the typical knight in shining armour she always pictured in her day dreams, but he was her best friend and she trusted him, and she appreciated his gesture nonetheless. She closed her eyes and turned over, and then scooted back to close the gap between them, hoping it wouldn't make him uncomfortable. But she was surprised when he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her even closer, leaving his arm draped over her side. She felt him move a strand of her hair – which was down long and straight, vastly different from its usual style – with his other hand, letting it slip through his fingers as he straightened it down her back, and then they were still, lying front to back under the blankets. The extra warmth made her feel better right away and she snuggled in. James never made her feel bad when she went from being her usual tough and fearless self, and she wasn't ashamed to have him comfort her during the storm. He was nothing like the boys she used to know, she could be afraid of things, and he would never pick on her or make her feel bad for it. Instead he did things like this…

She smiled to herself and the next time she heard thunder, he gripped her a little tighter, and she knew she would be fine.


End file.
